


The Things We Learned at College

by Tails89



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Hiccup and Snotlout are cousins, Modern AU, The dragons are various animals, University Setting, typical college shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-10-05 20:46:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10316660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tails89/pseuds/Tails89
Summary: Modern AURandom stories of the adventures the gang get up to at university. Bringing the last of my work across from Tumblr.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting the whole thing up in one go. Enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of these are based on real events... Some are not....
> 
> [Find me on Tumblr](https://dragontails89.tumblr.com/)

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BLOOOOOOP BLOP BLOP BLOP!_

There was a crowd of students milling around outside in the cold.

“Do you know if we can go back in yet?”

The question came from the blonde girl who lived down the hall. Hiccup had caught a glimpse of her the day before when he’d been unpacking.

“Uh, we have to wait for the fire brigade to get here and turn the alarm off.” As if to illustrate his point, the fire alarm started its repetitive shrieking once more.

“Second time tonight. I wonder if there is a record,” he muttered to himself. “Uh, I’m uh, H-Hicc-Henry, by the way.”

“Hicc-henry? Interesting.” The blonde smiled briefly and rubbed her arms.

“It’s Henry,” Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. “Hiccup –it’s a nickname… I guess. I never really liked it but, it just kinda stuck in highschool.” He realised he was flapping his hands around and shoved them into his pockets. “And… yeah.”

The blonde girl pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, then hugged herself against the cold. She eyed the jacket Hiccup had wrapped around himself. She’d left hers in her room when the fire alarm went off.

“I’m Astrid.” She replied finally.

Hiccup saw her shiver.

“You know, I don’t think it’s an actual fire. You could probably run in and grab a jacket before the fire brigade get here. It took them twenty minutes earlier and at least fifteen minutes last night.”

Astrid scoffed “Are you kidding me? The station is just down the road. Is this going to happen every night?”

Hiccup shrugged. “Welcome to university.” He spread his arms wide to gesture at the old brick building that was currently being bathed in the flickering, orange glow of the street lamps that lit the side walk.

“Oh joy, because it’s not like I planned on sleeping at all while I’m here.” Astrid smiled again. This time it was more genuine.

“You’re not partaking in the orientation week rituals?” Hiccup joked. “I’ve heard it’s a rite of passage. Drinking cheap cask wine and vomiting in bushes.”

“I just got back from dinner with my parents before they left,” she shrugged. “And for all you know I’m all about cask wine. What about you? You’re living in the ‘party dorms’, why aren’t you joining in with all the partying?”

“I’m a bit of a lightweight,” Hiccup confided. “I had one drink and they didn’t know what to do with all… this…” He curled his biceps in a show of manliness.

“I can only imagine,” Astrid laughed.

The stood silent in the cold for a minute, all out of small talk.

“So what are you studying-“ ”What degree are you-“

They spoke at the same time.

Hiccup bit his lip. “Sorry, you go.”

A siren sounded in the distance, barely discernible under the wail of the fire alarm.

“Oh, uh, I’m studying sports science, you?”

The siren was getting louder.

“Um, engineering”

“Okay… cool…”

Red and blue lights bounced off the buildings and moments later two firemen appeared clad in yellow. They entered the building and glorious silence descended as the wailing of the alarm was cut off.

“Finally!” Astrid threw her arms into the air.

The crowd began to move towards the doors but the firemen were blocking the entrance.

“Hey, what’s the hold up?” Someone called out from the mass of bodies.

“What’s going on?”

Hiccup watched Astrid push up through the crowd towards the doors. “And I’m talking to myself.” He waited but she didn’t reappear. Suddenly the crowd started moving again as the firemen left.

Hiccup made his way upstairs to his floor.

Astrid was standing by the door to the common area.

“They said if the alarm goes off again they’re locking us out,” she explained, answering his earlier question. They pushed their way past into the hallway.

“So, this is my room.” They paused outside Astrid’s bedroom.

“Oh, um.” Hiccup stood awkwardly in front of her door. “Goodnight. Astrid. Uh… I’ll…” He pointed towards his own room. “Yep.” He wandered back towards his own room and unlocked his door.

He glanced back down the hallway but Astrid had already gone into her room.

Hiccup went inside and flopped onto his bed. “So very smooth.” The clock on his side table told him it was 1am and he had work at 8.

Sighing, he tugged off his jacket. He’d been in bed before the alarm and was already wearing the sweatpants and t-shirt he normally wore to bed.

The sheets had gone cold and Hiccup shivered as he crawled back under the covers. He closed his eyes and tried not the think of the pretty blonde girl down the hall. _Astrid._ He committed her name to memory as he began to drift off-

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

For the third time that night Hiccup was startled awake by the discordant blaring of the fire alarm.

“Again? Really?”

He reached for his phone and tapped the lock button for a glimpse of the time. Great. He’d been asleep for less than an hour.

He was tempted to stay in bed, sure that some idiot had set off the alarm again but doubted he’d get back to sleep with all the noise. And he’d get to see Astrid again.

It was silly, Hiccup knew this. His room was just four doors down from hers. Of course he’d see her around again but she wasn’t the sort of person he normally hung out with. Maybe come morning she wouldn’t want to talk to him. A few of the other students had already made that decision themselves.

He made up his mind and pushed the covers back. The night air was chilly, even inside, but his jacket was still bunched up at the end of his bed from earlier. Hiccup shrugged it on and reached over to flick on the light switch beside his door.

Harsh yellow light spread across the floor, illuminating the mess of books and boxes and clothes he had half unpacked.

He reached down to grab his foot, but his hand met empty air. He looked around before realising he had never taken it off before going back to bed. That was a first. It wasn’t particularly comfortable to sleep in, much like wearing shoes to bed- he glanced at his right foot- which he had also done. He supposed that’s what happened when you were woken at stupid o’clock because someone kept setting off the damn fire alarm.

There was a pattering of feet past his door. People were making their way outside.

Hiccup grabbed his backpack and threw some clean clothes into it. He had a friend in one of the smaller residences. If he crashed on the couch he could still get a couple of hours sleep before work.

He slung his bag over his should and snatched his keys from his desk, his phone was still in his hand.

Hiccup exited his room. The hall was empty but he could hear people on the stairs. He made his way carefully down to the next floor. Though his gait contained trace of a limp, exhaustion messed with his co-ordination and last thing he wanted was to go ass over face in front of everyone.

He made it outside without incident. It was even colder now than it had been an hour ago.

Looking around Hiccup couldn’t spot Astrid. He unlocked his phone and scrolled through to one of his contacts. It rang once, twice, three times.

“Come one Fish, pick up the phone.” Hiccups teeth were beginning to chatter. Despite the jacket , his thin sweatpants didn’t offer much in the way of heat retention.

The call connected and was answered by a groan.

“Really Hiccup? It’s three o’clock on the morning.”

“Yeah, I know that.” Hiccup wandered away from the building to find a quieter spot.

“What’s that noise?” The voice of Hiccup’s friend Fishlegs became clearer as he woke up.

“Oh, that? Oh, that’s just the fire alarm. It’s been set off three times tonight but who’s counting?” Hiccup rubbed at his weary eyes. “Look, Fish, can I crash on the couch at yours?”

“Couldn’t take the party lifestyle huh, Hiccup?” Hiccup and Fishlegs had been friends through highchool. They had joked when accepting their accommodation offers about the parties that went on at West Lodge where Hiccup was staying. With eighteen students per dorm and nine dorms per building it was bound to get noisy, compared to Fishlegs’ accommodation in North Lodge with just seven students per building.

“Yeah, yeah. Look, I’m coming round. I’ll be there in five minutes okay?”

There was a great big yawn from the other line. Then nothing.

“Fishlegs?”

A snore.

“Really? Did you really just fall back to sleep? FERGUS?!”

The snore choked off.

“What? Yes. Door. I’ll open it.”

Hiccup shook his friend and hung up.

“Can you believe this?”

He spun around.

Astrid was standing in front of him gesturing wildly at the building.

“Uh-“

“I mean seriously. Heads are going to roll when I catch the _idiot_ who keeps setting that thing off.”

Hiccup eyed her nervously as the fair-haired girl cracked her knuckles menacingly.

“What?” She snapped.

“Nothing,” it rushed from his mouth. “I just-“ he was going to say that this wasn’t like her, but he realised he didn’t really know Astrid at all. Maybe this _was_ like her. “-angry much?”

Astrid scowled. “Don’t you think this is more than a little ridiculous? It’s really, really late and I have to be up really early tomorrow.” She glanced down at her watch. “Well, later today.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m tired.”

“Yeah,” Hiccup glanced over his shoulder towards the other side of campus. “I’m uh, going to head off and crash on my friends couch. It’s much quieter over there.” He paused. “You, ah, you can maybe come… you know… if you wanted, I mean- you don’t have to. It’s just. You said they were going to kick us out if the alarms went off again.” He was rambling.

Hiccup watched Astrid size him up. She shrugged.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll take you up on that.” Her eyes narrowed. “But only because I need a few hours of sleep before practice.”

“Oh, okay. Cool.” Hiccup tried to play it off like it was no big deal. He lead Astrid up the path towards North Lodge. When they reached Fishlegs’ building he knocked on the door. After a minute of waiting around he tried again. Still nothing. He glanced nervously at Astrid and pulled his phone from his pocket to call Fishlegs again.

“Did you fall asleep again?” He asked as soon as the call connected.

“No…” Fishlegs voice trailed off. “Okay, yes, but you know I need at least eight hours sleep or-“

Hiccup cut him off.

“Can you just let us in please?”

“Oh, yeah just a minute.”

Hiccup could hear the sounds of Fishlegs thumping down the stairs through the speaker of his phone and a dark shape appeared in the glass window in front of them.

The door opened to reveal Hiccup’s large friend in the dim light of pre-dawn.

“Thanks buddy,” Hiccup took a step forwards. “Fishlegs, this is Astrid. She lives in my building.”

The larger man hadn’t moved. He was staring at Astrid.

“Uh, can we come in?” Hiccup tried again. Fishlegs moved out of the way but continued to stare as Hiccup and his petite companion came inside.

“Uh, so you can choose, booth or couch?” Hiccup gestured towards the long booth seat behind the dining table and then the small blue couch up against the opposite wall. He turned to his friend.

“Thanks.”

Fishlegs mouth opened and closed like he wanted to say something, but the big man shook it off and nodded before lumbering back up to the stairs to his room.

When he turned back around Astrid was sitting on the couch.

“Uh, goodnight then.”

Astrid flapped her hand in response but was already curling up on the plump cushions. Hiccup carefully picked his way around the dining table in the dark.  The booth seat wasn’t as comfortable as the couch but given the late growth spirt Hiccup had had just before leaving for college, he’d have had to fold himself over three times to fit.

He dropped his backpack on the floor and stretched out, debating with himself whether or not to take the foot off or leave it on. He decided to leave it. He could tell Astrid already thought he was a bit awkward. Imagine what she’d say if she found his foot just lying on the floor. No, best to leave it on for now, Hiccup decided as he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The student accommodation I lived in had faulty fire alarms. In the middle of winter one year our alarms went off FOUR TIMES between midnight and 5am. My friend lived in a dorm (which I based Hiccup's accommodation on) with ten other people (I only lived with four) and someone set the alarm off three times and they all got locked out so she slept on my couch.


	2. We broke a tree!

It started on the first day of classes.

Astrid had been walking back to the residences after her classes when a familiar nasal voice made her turn.

“Hey, uh Astrid.”

She waited politely as Hiccup jogged to catch up to her. He had a weird ungainly gait. He probably didn’t run very often, judging from his body type Astrid figured he was probably one of those guys who could eat anything and still stay beanpole thin.

“Hey, uh Hiccip.” They walked back to their building together in awkward silence. They hadn’t seen each other since their second night on campus. Hiccup had woken stiff and sore in Fishlegs’ living room and Astrid had already gone.

“So… how was your first day?”

“It was fine.”

“I, uh, we were pretty much thrown into it.”

“Yeah, same.”

The conversation trailed off awkwardly and they walked home in silence, splitting up to return to their own rooms.

By the third day the silence was less awkward and more companionable.

On the fifth day, Hiccup went for it.

“You know Fish is having some friends over tonight,” he glanced across at Astrid. “If you want a break. You should… come around…” he paused. “Or not. You’re probably busy… but there’ll be other girls there… well girl. Riley… she’s… well she’d Riley…”

Astrid cut him off “Do you talk like this all the time?”

“Like what?”

“You just sort of ramble and you tend to flap your hands about,” she demonstrated.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t do that.”

“You do.”

They reached the front doorway and lapsed into silence once more as they climbed the stairs. Hiccup went to his room to dump his books before heading back out. Astrid was waiting for him in the hallway. She held a box of wine in her hands.

“Where did you even get that from?” Hiccup asked.

“I’ve heard it’s a rite of passage. I told you. I’m all about the cask wine.”

They walked to Fishlegs’ building. The front door was open and there was a boy and a girl sitting at the table. The girl was cheering on the boy as he chugged what ever it was in his glass.

“Astrid, this is Tyler and Riley,” Hiccup waved towards the two drinkers. “And don’t you think it’s a bit early for the heavy drinking?” He asked.

“Welcome to university,” Astrid dropped her box of wine onto the table. “Where can I find a glass?”

*

“Wait, wait, _you_ ’re from Berk? But we’ve never met?” Hiccup gulped down the sickly sweet wine in his cup and shuddered at the taste. “This stuff is awful.”

“Well it’s near Berk,” Astrid clarified. She reached for the box to poor Hiccup another glass. “And I went to boarding school here in the city.” She reached for the cup Hiccup was holding. “Give me you cup Haddock, I want to see you drunk.”

Hiccup had been nursing his drink for the past two hours and had only just finished his second cup. He reluctantly handed it over and wondered if he could snatch a beer off his cousin instead.

Scott was sitting on the couch behind Astrid and Hiccup who were sitting on the floor beside an empty pizza box. There was another pizza perched precariously on the arm on of the sofa and three more boxes on the table between the twins. Fishlegs had just disappeared for something upstairs.

Hiccup was desperately hoping it wasn’t his new Magic cards. Astrid was finally beginning to open up to the weird little group and that was not an area of his life Hiccup was ready to share. He could hear Scott trying to start up a conversation Astrid.

“So, you work out? You look like you work out.”

Astrid shrugged. “I swim.”

“Yeah, I could tell,” Scott was pushing up his short shirt sleeves. “From one athlete to another. We need to stick together around these academicals.”

 _Academicals?_  Astrid mouthed the word at Hiccup who groaned at his cousin and threw back his drink.

“Hey Hiccup, can I talk to you?” Scott eyed the doorway and motioned towards it. “Outside.”

“Uh, sure.” Hiccup put his cup up on the table and climbed unsteadily to his feet so that he could follow his cousin outside.

“So Astrid huh? Not bad, not bad at all.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes at his cousin.

“You know she hasn’t been able to take her eyes off me all night.”

“Is that so?” Hiccup stumbled over to the tree his cousin was leaning against.

“And can you blame her? Look at me?”

“Yeah, you’re the very picture of manliness.” Hiccup rolled his eyes again and the world swam. He hadn’t had _that_ much to drink had he? Something above him caught his eye.

“ _Someone_ has to look this good. May as well be me.”

“Mmhmm.” Hiccup wasn’t listening anymore. “I’m going to climb this tree.”

“You!” Scott laughed. “Go on then. This’ll be great.”

Hiccup jumped for the branch, easy given his height. It was thin, but held his weight as he scrabbled his feet against the bark of the tree. He braced his right foot and pushed up but lacked the strength in his left calf to repeat the motion and slipped. As his weight dropped there was an almighty _crack_ and Hiccup was sent sprawling in the dirt.

Scott lost it. He laughed so hard he had to put a hand against the tree trunk to keep himself standing.

“Ow!”

Hiccup groaned and rolled out from under the branch. He picked his way to his feet.

“Well that was stupid.” He brushed himself off, bruised but okay. “I think I’ve had enough family bonding. I’m going back inside.”

The light from the door was beckoning Hiccup back inside.

“Woah what happened to you?”

It was Riley who asked. Hiccup tried to brush the last of the leaf litter out of his hair.

“Yeah, you look more rough than Ruff here,” Tyler nudged his sister, who shoved him back.

“He broke a tree!”

Scott swung through the door.

“He smashed it! Hiccup the peg leg totally broke the tree!”

Tyler and Riley were immediately on their feet and out the door.

“Are you okay?” Astrid put down her cup.

“I’m fine, it was nothing, really. Just don’t know my own strength.” Hiccup sat on the arm of the couch beside Astrid.

There was a rustling outside and the twins reappeared dragging the broken branch behind them. They brought it right inside and lay it out on the living room floor.

“Look at our tree!” Tyler straddled the branch. Riley had plucked leaves from it and tucked them behind her ears.

“Uh Guys…?” Fishlegs had reappeared on the stairs. He took in the scene before him. “Do I even want to know?”

Hiccup took in the chaos of the living room. “Probably not…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When deciding to climb a tree it's important to consider these things;  
> 1\. How drunk you are  
> 2\. How high the branch is  
> 3\. Will the branch support your weight
> 
> I overlooked each of these and went for it, but I was not the one who dragged the damn thing through the living room.


	3. Awkward Conversations

They were walking up to the unit.

“Hiccup, I get it, I do.”

Hiccup eyed his cousin dubiously.

“We’re all good friends and you don’t want to mess with that.”

Hiccup wasn’t sure where his cousin was going with this, and he wasn’t sure his eyebrow could climb any higher.

“You, me and Astrid. Really good friends.”

Hiccup took the bait. “Where are you going with this, Scott?” He asked. “And what’s this about friendship? The only reason I put up with you is because we’re related.”

Scott pretended to be hurt by that comment. “You say that because you feel threatened by me.”

Hiccup scoffed but didn’t get a chance to contradict his cousin.

“I mean, look at me and look at you. It makes sense. Me and Astrid are in the same classes and we have the same hobbies, we even go to the same gym-“

“Yeah, about that, Astrid told me you were-“ Hiccup was cut off again.

“Look, I know you like her. And because we’re family, and because the last thing I would want is to ruin our friendship.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

“I promise not to make any moves on Astrid.”

“Oh thank gods for that,” Hiccup muttered, his voice dripping with sass. “So very big of you.”

“I can’t promise I’ll say no if she makes moves on me though. I mean, I have this-” Scott brought up his arms to show off his biceps. “And, you know, you’re…” He scanned his cousins long, thin body and trailed off.

Hiccup wasn’t sure how to respond. “Well thanks for… that. Remind me to stay away when the girls start flinging themselves at you.”

They reached the fork in the path that went off towards Hiccup’s building.

“Good talk.” Scott nodded to himself. “I’ve got your back Cuz.”

Hiccup just shook his head and wandered off towards his room.

*

Hiccup sat at his desk thinking about the odd conversation he’d had with his cousin earlier that day. A knock on his door startled him back into the present. He swivelled his chair around as Astrid stepped into his room. She was down on his bed with her back against the wall and drew her feet up.

“I just had the weirdest conversation with your cousin,” she played with her long golden braid.

“That seems to be a common theme today,” Hiccup told her.

“What? Did he ask you out too?”

Astrid gave a shudder and Hiccup laughed.

“That liar. I knew I couldn’t trust him with all of his promises of “Our friendship is important to me”.”

Astrid made a face. “This is Scott the Snot, we’re talking about here. Did he really say that? Eugh.”

“Yep,” Hiccup recounted his morning. “He said that. Said it wouldn’t be fair because you’d obviously pick him.”

“Pick him over who?” Astrid let her feet hang back over the bed. Her toes just brushed the greying carpet. Hiccup had gone bright red.

“Well, obviously,” Astrid grinned and pushed herself to her feet and drifted back over to the doorway. “He’d be wrong.”

Astrid disappeared back down the hall leaving Hiccup sitting alone in his room, trying to process what she’d just said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is made up. Though my friend and I both liked the same guy and she wanted to make a deal that neither of us would act on it and I agreed because we're friends but then she asked him on a date.


	4. Homework and Beer

“So, I’m curious…”

It was a balmy afternoon. A cool breeze played gently through the leaves of the trees that spotted the lawn.

“About what?”

Rather than going back to their dorm rooms, Astrid had suggested they go to the pub on the edge of the university campus. They sat with their drinks opposite one another at one of the large outdoor tables. Astrid had monopolised the table space with her notes on anatomy and labelled diagrams of muscles, so Hiccup sat with legs splayed on either side of the bench seat with his text book open in front of him.

“Your leg.”

Hiccup looked up at this.

“Your cousin kept mentioning it the other night, but you were pretty drunk by then- I was pretty drunk by then.”

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I don’t recall much from that night. I tried to climb a tree.”

“You broke a tree!”

They grinned at each other.

“So..?”

Hiccup shrugged.

“Really? You’re just going to shrug?”

Hiccup shrugged again.

“You’re normally much more talkative than this.”

Hiccup reached for his drink and took a sip of the cool beverage before turning back to his textbook. “You’re normally not very talkative at all. Why are you so interested?”

“You limp on it sometimes and I’ve been studying the muscles of the leg” Astrid gestured to the papers spread out across the table “plus I was kind of just curious.” She pushed her fringe back behind her ear. “Is there are scar?”

Hiccup closed his textbook. “I guess you could say that.”

“Is that why you don’t want to talk about it?” If anything, Astrid seemed even more interested. “You shouldn’t worry about it. I have a massive scar on my shoulder. It’s no big deal.”

“How’d that happen?”

This time Astrid shrugged.

“Real mature.” Hiccup took another sip of his drink.

“Fine,” Astrid started rolling up her right sleeve. “Because it is no big deal, I will tell you what happened.” As the material rolled over her shoulder smooth pale skin gave way to a thick band of dark pink scar tissue.

“My parents own a property in Berk, I have a horse – Stormfly, she’s amazing, but before her I had to ride mum’s horse and she shied at _everything_.” Astrid shifted so Hiccup could see the scar that twisted up her arm and across her shoulder. “Stupid horse threw me. Broke my arm, my collarbone, dislocated my shoulder. I had surgery on it a couple of times and for a while I couldn’t lift it above here,” she raised her arm to show Hiccup. “I got into swimming to strengthen the muscles. Your turn.” Astrid let her sleeve fall to cover her arm once more.

“That’s pretty impressive.” Hiccup looked down at his foot. He and Astrid had been hanging out more and more often since the night at Fighlegs’. He wasn’t entirely sure how it had happened. Back in highschool Hiccup would have never have been friends with a girl like Astrid. She had an air about her that the popular kids had had back at school, but Hiccup had never really seen her hanging out with anyone else, though she’d mentioned some friends from school. He made up his mind.

“But my scar is better.” He reached for the cuff of his jeans.

“Show us then.” Astrid leaned over the table, almost knocking over her beer in the process. Hiccup lifted his leg onto the bench and stretched it out so she could see.

“I was in an accident a couple of years ago,” he explained as he slowly he rolled up the leg of his jeans. Shoe gave way to sock and then metal glinted in the late afternoon sunshine. “I was riding my bike to school.” Hiccup rolled his jeans all the way up to the flesh coloured cuff of his prosthetic leg. “I don’t actually remember being hit by the car.”

“Hiccup, I’m sorry.” Astrid sat back down. “I shouldn’t have pushed.”

“I told you mine was better.” Hiccup unrolled the material back down over his leg. “So do I win?”

“Yeah, I’d say you definitely won this won,” Astrid drained her glass. “I’ve never actually seen _that_ before…”

“A one legged guy?” Hiccup finished his own drink. “How would you even know?” He tapped his now hidden leg. “We’re masters of disguise.”

“Oh shut up,” Astrid pushed up from the table and gestured to his glass. “You want another?”

…

“Can I ask you a question?”

Drinks and homework had turned into drinks and dinner, and homework was pushed to the side of the table and forgotten.

“You just did.” Hiccup picked up a fry, dunked it into the little pot of tomato sauce and shoved it into his mouth.

“Ha ha, so funny.” Astrid took a fry. “About your leg.”

“Have you been thinking about it this entire time?”

“No,” Astrid was examining her chip very closely. “I was just wondering what it was like?”

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Hiccup thought carefully. “Sometimes it feels like it’s still there, but it’s numb, like I’ve been sitting on it and my whole leg’s gone to sleep. Getting used to the prosthetic took a while.” He leaned over the table and whispered. “Once I was walking through a shopping centre and it just fell off.”

Astrid smothered a snort. “What?”

“It just fell off!” Hiccup groaned and buried his head in his hands. “I had this massive growth spurt and we were having trouble with sizing and it just fell off.” He looked up and grinned. “Most embarrassing moment of my life.”

Astrid laughed.

“But, I guess it’s just a part of me now.” Hiccup shrugged. “You eating that?” He reached for the last of the chips and shoved them into his mouth.


	5. Netflix and Chill

Astrid wasn’t quite sure how it happened. It had started with catching up after class. Eating nachos and drinking beer in the warm summer evenings over piles of homework turned into Netflix binge watching as the weather turned cold and grey.

Astrid glanced across at Hiccup, his face was lit by the glow of her laptop which was propped up on a chair by her bed. He was engrossed in whatever action flick they’re put on earlier. Astrid couldn’t even remember what it was they had chosen.

She couldn’t imagine having a friend like Hiccup in high school. They would have run in completely different circles, yet somehow they had come together, bonding over a shared competitive streak of who could get the better assignment marks. There was something about his approachable personality and his easy laugh that had Astrid asking Hiccup to stay after their homework was done.

Nearing the mid-semester break of their first year of university, it felt like they had been friends for years. Astrid was almost wishing she wasn’t going home for the six week break. As much as she missed Stormfly, she was going to miss hanging out with Hiccup who was staying because he couldn’t get the time off work.

“-strid?”

“Huh?” Astrid tuned back into the world around her. The movie had ended and Hiccup had caught her staring at him. “Sorry, just thinking. Hand me my drink?” She reached out towards one of the bottles on the bedside table and Hiccup handed Astrid her now lukewarm beer.

“About?”

“Just… this,” Astrid gestured loosely to their position on her bed. “Drinking and movies. What will I do when I’m back at home and I don’t have you to tell me which movies I need to watch?” The beers she had consumed earlier had Astrid acting uncharacteristically flirty.

“I think you can handle the responsibility,” Hiccup took a sip of his own drink.

Astrid laughed. “No way. It’s simply too much.” She shoved his shoulder playfully. “But I’m serious. Are you sure you can’t get just a few days off?”

Hiccup shrugged. “It’s not so much that. I could get the time off, but that means going home and having the same argument with Dad which lead to me leaving Berk in the first place.”

“You haven’t spoken to him since you got here. Don’t you miss him at all? I miss my parents and I’ve spoken to them at least once a week since uni started.”

“Well, yeah I miss him, and I miss Toothless, but every conversation ends with him telling me about how he knew exactly what he wanted when he finished school. About how he’d created his own company by the time he was twenty and about how disappointed he is that I didn’t want to follow in his footsteps.” Hiccup tore at the label on his beer bottle. “I don’t want the same things as him and he just doesn’t see it.”

“He’s still your Dad,” Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup’s shoulder. “You should come back to Berk for a few days. See your dad, you can meet Stormfly and we can hang out when _my_ family starts driving _me_ crazy.” The hand gripped his arm and shook it, spilling beer over Hiccup’s shirt.

A laugh spilled from Astrid’s lips.

“Sorry!”

Hiccup put his drink down and plucked Astrid’s from her fingers.

“Milady, I think you’ve had enough.”

Astrid raised an eyebrow and Hiccup blushed. “Er, I think we’ve both had enough.”

“I hadn’t finished,” Astrid leaned over to try and retrieve her drink, bringing herself face to face with her best friend.

“Um,” now Astrid was blushing too. Hiccup’s eyes flicked down to her lips, and a nervous laugh slipped out. Heart racing, Astrid leaned in a little further.

Lips gently brushed lips.

Astrid backed up slightly.

“Uh- I-I’ve been wanting to do that for a while…” She couldn’t meet Hiccup’s eyes, afraid of what he would say. There was a tense moment as both adults sat in heavy silence before if was finally broken.

“Come here you!” Hiccup’s arm snaked around Astrid’s waist and he pulled her close. Their lips locked together eagerly, fuelled by alcohol and months of sexual tension.

Breaking apart, Astrid shifted to swing her leg across and straddle Hiccup, one hand rested on his shoulder as the other carded through his hair.

“I could get used to this.” Hiccup smirked.

“Shut up Haddock,” Astrid pushed him back so that they were lying on her bed.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Hiccup was pulling his mouth away from hers again, so Astrid moved to his neck. Her hands were shifting, moving downwards to tug on Hiccup’s shirt.

“We’ve had a lot to drink, and uh-“

Astrid sat up. “You don’t want to do this?”

“What? Gods no! I’ve been thinking about this, and you, and we’ll I’m-“ He gestured to himself, before his hands came up to brush through his hair. “I mean- that’s not what I meant. I should-“

Astrid silenced Hiccup with another kiss.

“You should take your shirt off”

She shifted backwards, crawling so Hiccup could sit up. There was a soft clunk, then-

“Ow! Sonofa-!”

Astrid was clutching her foot

“What happened?”

“I kicked your stupid leg! Ow ow!” Astrid was laughing and crying.

“Let me see,” Hiccup was reaching for her and inspecting her sore toes. “I don’t know,” he told her gravely, “I think it’s going to have to come off.”

Astrid let go of her foot to grab a pillow and shove it in Hiccup’s face. They were both laughing.

They lay down beside each other on the bed.

“Maybe we should take this slow… whatever this is…” Hiccup was lying on his back, but his face was turned to look at Astrid as he spoke. “I really like you Astrid.”

“I like you too,” Astrid’s fingers curled around Hiccup’s.

“I don’t want to rush into anything.”

“We don’t have to rush into anything. Come back to Berk for the break and we’ll just… see where this goes.”

Astrid stretched across to plant another kiss on Hiccup’s mouth.

“I really could get used to this,” he chuckled.


	6. Home for the Holidays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m an Aussie, and that comes through with some of my spelling, also I don't know how US semesters work. Here our mid-semester break happens through June and July (which is winter).

It was the same old argument. Hiccup wasn’t even listening. He’d heard his Dad’s speech so many times he knew exactly when to nod and make little noises of agreement.

With his elbow propped up on the kitchen counter, chin resting on his hand, he played with his phone. He’d agreed to meet up with Astrid after they had had a chance to catch up with their parents, but after a single night Hiccup was ready to make his escape from his father’s tirade.

“Son, you’re not even listening to me.” Stuart Haddock’s hands came down hard on the marble bench.

“Of course not Dad,” Hiccup rolled his eyes. “We’ve had this argument so many times, I can recite it in my sleep.”

“I just want what’s best for you.”

“Well, Dad, maybe what’s best for me is, you know, for me to decide.” Hiccup pushed himself to his feet, shoving back the stool he’d been sitting you. “You promised me that I could go to University and study what _I_ wanted.”

“I know Son, but-“

“And when I graduated I could have twelve months to find work before I had to come back and join the family business.”

Hiccup’s phone pinged on the kitchen counter.

“It hasn’t even been six months Dad, but I like it there.” His eyes fell to Astrid’s name on his phone’s home screen. “So can we not have this argument again?”

Stuart’s eyes followed Hiccup’s line of sight to the phone.

“Is this about a girl?”

“No!” Hiccup responded too quickly and the older man’s eyebrows rose. “Fine yes, there’s a girl.”

Stuart came round the counter to clap his son on the back, old argument forgotten. “That’s my boy, tell me about her.”

“Uh,” Hiccup gaze shifted. He did not want to have _this_ conversation with his father. “I’d rather not Dad, this is not a suitable change of subject.”

“Well, er, just promise me you’ll be… safe.”

“ _Daaaad,”_ Hiccup’s head hit his palm. “I’m nineteen. I do _not_ want, nor do I need to have this discussion with you.”

“I’m just saying son-“

“No.”

“You can never be too careful.”

“Yup, and I’m leaving.” Hiccup whistled up for Toothless who had been lounging in a patch of sunlight by the front door. “Come on Bud.” He grabbed his coat and snatched his key’s from the hook in the entryway.

It was cold outside. This time of year Berk was freaking freezing. The whole time Hiccup was growing up he’d complained that it wasn’t fair that a place could get so cold, but never snow.

He hugged his jacket close to him as he made his way to his car. He didn’t normally drive, but Astrid had texted him her address and it was way too far to ride his bike. Hiccup opened the driver’s side door and held it so that Toothless could jump in, before climbing in himself.

The engine started first go. His dad had kept the car in running order while he’d been gone. From there it was a short drive to the other side of town. Astrid’s family lived just a few miles outside of town and Hiccup found the driveway easily enough. He drove carefully along the muddy road and pulled up outside the house.

Toothless was clambering over him and out the door before Hiccup could even unbuckle his seatbelt.

“Toothless, get back here.”

The three legged dog stopped and turned to look back at Hiccup. The sound of a screen door opening announced the arrival of Astrid outside and Toothless took that as his cue to take off again, racing towards the blond girl on the porch.

“Toothless, really?”

Hiccup followed the dog up to the house. The black Border collie was up on his hind leg trying to lick Astrid’s face.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about him,” Hiccup apologised. “He’s not big on listening.”

“It’s okay,” Astrid scratched behind Toothless’ ears and the door fell to the ground, rolling on to his back to allow for belly rubs. Astrid complied. “I know a few people who aren’t big on listening.” She straightened up. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Stormfly.”

Together they walked around the house to the paddocks behind, Toothless raced ahead.

“Uh, how is Stormfly with dogs?” Hiccup asked nervously, envisioning a rearing horse trampling his furry friend.

“She’s fine. Stormfly’s amazing.” Astrid took his hand and pulled Hiccup along to speed him up. “There she is! Hey girl.” Astrid pulled Hiccup up to the fence line where a tall grey horse with a crisp white mane was sniffing at Toothless.

Astrid climbed onto the fence and Stormfly abandoned the dog to butt her rider in the chest.

“Don’t worry, she’s friendly,” Astrid assured Hiccup as she patted the fence, motioning him to join her.

Hiccup scrambled up beside her to sit with his feet hanging.

“Let her sniff you,” Astrid instructed as the mare swung her head around to the new person. Stormfly snorted and turned back to Astrid, nudging at her until the girl retrieved the apple pieces hidden in her pockets. She handed a slice to Hiccup.

“Hold your hand out flat,” she demonstrated, allowing Stormfly to take the fruit from her palm. Hiccup copied her. Hairy lips tickled his palm as the horse snatched the apple away. Slowly, so Stormfly could see him move he slowly lifted his hand to lay it on her nose.

Stormfly snorted and butted against Hiccup’s hand.

“She likes you,” Astrid leaned against Hiccup’s shoulder and the russet haired boy continued to pat the horse. “So how did it go with you Dad?”

Hiccup sighed and let his hand drop.

“That well huh?”

“He doesn’t get it,” Hiccup complained. “He’s all about these great plans for me and for the company, but I don’t want that. I’m not like him.” Hiccup turned to Astrid as she laid a hand on his arm. “So, that’s what I’ve been dealing with.”

“Well despite that, I’m glad you came back to Berk and I’m sure you two will work it out.” Astrid gave Hiccup a peck on the cheek.

“I gave him something else to think about, when I mentioned that there may have been a girl involved. Most embarrassing conversation ever!”

“You told him about me?” Astrid laughed. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

“He saw your text and filled it the gaps. Gods Astrid, I’m pretty sure he was about to launch into a talk on the birds and the bees.”

Astrid let out a bark of laugher. “Noo!”

“Yes!” Hiccup waved his arms. “That is not a conversation any teenager wants to have with their dad. I’m pretty sure I can’t go home after that.”

“You could stay here,” Astrid joked. “But we’ll probably end up getting the same speech from my parents.” She shivered. “Let’s go inside.”

She swung around and jumped from the railing. Hiccup followed, stumbling on the landing and landing on his knees in the mud.

“So graceful,” Astrid tugged him back to his feet. “Come on.”

Hiccup tried to wipe the dirt from his knees, managing only to smear it further so he gave up.

“Coming Toothless?” He turned to see dog and horse, nose to nose. Toothless barked and jumped back before taking off across the paddock. Stormfly gave chase as a game of tag ensued.

“They’ll be fine,” Astrid assured him. “I’m freezing!.”

They headed inside.

“Look,” Astrid pointed to one of the windows as a curtain fluttered shut. “I think we’re being watched.” She took Hiccup’s hand. “We should make this look good,” she told him and pulled the lanky boy close to kiss.

“I missed that,” she sighed when they broke apart.

“Missed what?” Hiccup was blushing, he always blushed when Astrid took control. “I saw you yesterday. I kissed you goodbye when you dropped me at my house!”

“That was yesterday,” Astrid teased, mimicking his flailing hands.

“I don’t even know who you are anymore, you used to be so serious,” Hiccup joked.

They stepped into the house.

“Astrid, honey?” A voice called from another room. “Don’t forget to take your shoes off this time.”

Astrid turned red. “I forgot yesterday,” she whispered to Hiccup and kicked off her shoes. Hiccup removed his own shoes as Astrid’s mum wandered into the room.

“Mum, this is Hiccup,” Astrid pulled off her heavy coat, just catching her mum’s questioning stare. “Sorry, H-“ Wait. Astrid looked at Hiccup in a panic. He’d told her his name the first night they had met after the fire alarm had gone off, but everyone had referred to him as Hiccup since. Much to her embarrassment Astrid realised she could not for the life of her remember Hiccup’s name.

“Henry Haddock,” Hiccup reached up to shake Astrid’s mum’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you ma’am.”

“Oh my God” Astrid buried her face in her hands as Hiccup tried not to laugh.

“Everyone just calls me Hiccup,” he explained. “And I’m never going to let Astrid forget this moment.”

“You can call me Sue,” Astrid’s mum replied. “Well, I approve.”

“ _Muum_ ,” Astrid groaned, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She grabbed Hiccup’s hand to drag him away.

“Maybe you two should go do something today, while the sun’s out. We don’t get a lot of that this time of year.” Astrid’s mum suggested. “You could show him the creek. I don’t suppose you can ride a horse?” She asked.

“Uh, no,” Hiccup could not imagine climbing onto the back of such a large creature.

“You’ll be fine,” Astrid assured him. “You can ride Sneaky. He’s bomb proof.”

“What does that even mean?” Hiccup laughed nervously.

Astird was already tugging her boots back on. “It means you’ll be great.”

Sue looked Hiccup up and down, “Maybe he can borrow a pair of your Dad’s boots-“

She trailed off as she caught sight of his feet, or more accurately, foot.

“I remember you,” she told the confused teen. “I was on that morning they brought you in. You look a good sight better than you did then.”

“Er.” Still confused, Hiccup shot a questioning glance at Astrid.

“Mum’s a nurse,” Astrid explained. “She enjoys gory stuff as well as freaking out my boyfriend.” She said it with a pointed look at her mother who shrugged.

“What? I never,” she flapped her hand at her daughter. “Don’t listen to my daughter. I’ll get you some boots.

*

Dressed back up in coats and boots Astrid led Hiccup back outside to the stable. He watched as she saddled up both horses. Toothless sat at his feet, a big wolfish grin on his canine face. They went through the greeting procedure with Sneaky before they led the horses out into the yard.

“You look ridiculous,” Astrid laughed. Pointing at the helmet that had flattened his hair down beside his ears.

“Safety first, milady.” He rapped his knuckles against the hard plastic. “It’s a long way to fall and I’m not the most coordinated individual.

After a couple of awkward attempts, Hiccup mounted his horse. Sneaky stood still as Toothless danced around the horse’s feet.

“Leave it alone, bud,” Hiccup clutched at the saddle and waited for Astrid to mount Stormfly. She led Hiccup’s mount out of the yard and across to the next paddock. Toothless would go running ahead, then turn and run back to the couple. Hiccup clung to the back of his horse as Astrid snorted at his ungainly position.

They took the horses to the creek on the edge of the Hofferson’s property and sat on the rocky shore taking turn throwing a stick for Toothless.

“So, boyfriend, huh?”

Astrid was wrestling a stick from Toothless’ jaws. “What?”

“That’s what you said. To your mum.”

“It just sort of slipped out,” Astrid confessed. She won the stick and pretended to throw it again. Toothless cocked his head at her, and whined. “Clever dog,” Astrid tossed the stick and leaned back against Hiccup.

“I guess we are sorta dating if we count all the times we’ve hung out after class.” Hiccup wrapped an arm around Astrid’s waist. “Right, Milady?”

Astrid turned her head so that she could plant a kiss on Hiccup’s lips. “Right.”


	7. If it Ain't Broke

“Should you be doing that?”

Astrid was lounging on Hiccup’s bed, pen hanging limply in her hand. Papers and textbooks were strewn about her as she studied for her next exam.

Hiccup sat across from her at his desk, one leg crossed under the other. His prosthetic sat up on the table as Hiccup fiddled with a joint.

“Just making a few adjustments.” He tightened something Astrid couldn’t see. “It’s not sitting right.”

Astrid put down her work, ready for a break. She stretched her arms above her head, wincing slightly at the pull in her shoulder.

“Aren’t there people whose job it is to fix these things?”

She climbed off the bed and padded over to stand behind her boyfriend. Linked hands came to rest on the top of his head and she bent to prop her chin on top, leaning her weight against Hiccup’s skinny back.

“Well, yeah.” Astrid could feel Hiccup shrug beneath her. “But I’m pretty sure I know what the problem is. See here?” Long, freckled fingers traced along the shaft of the leg.

Astrid shook her head, wisps of Hiccup’s soft locks tickled her chin. “It all looks like one piece.”

“Well this bit controls the suspension,” Hiccup fiddled with something else, “and somethings caught so I think the whole leg is sitting a bit short.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you lost a few inches,” Astrid joked.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Hiccup replied dryly. Astrid knew he was rolling his eyes, even though she could not see his face.

Hiccup lifted the prosthetic leg from the table, checking it over one last time before placing it down again. Astrid moved from her position to perch on the desk beside him. He sat in a t-shirt and boxers having showered earlier, so he did not need to roll up his pants.

Astrid had only seen his stump a few times, glimpses in the morning if she’d stayed the night before. Hiccup didn’t go out of his way to hide the injury, but he definitely didn’t draw attention to it either, preferring to wear long pants when out in public. Besides his friends, Astrid was pretty sure she was the only person in the dorms who knew about it. 

She watched as Hiccup pulled his sock over what remained of his calf and up to his knee, smoothing his hands across the material to check for any wrinkles. Next came the liner, which he pulled over the sock. Finally he retrieved the rest of his leg, pushing his calf into the outer socket. When he was happy everything was lining up properly, Hiccup stood, taking a few steps to check the adjustments he had made.

“Better?” Astrid gave her boyfriend an appraising look.

“I think so, maybe?” Hiccup’s hands moved to brace against his lower back which had been aching for days, prompting his look into the mechanics of his prosthetic leg. He took a few more steps. “I may make a few tweaks.”

“And break it completely?” Astrid stood, hands on hips.

“I’m not going to break it Astrid.”

Finished, Hiccup sat down wearily and tugged the prosthetic off again. It was late and he’d been busy rushing around completing his exams. Truthfully, he hadn’t had time to make an appointment to get his leg seen to.

Astrid came over to collect her books and pile them neatly on the desk.

“Lie on your stomach,” she instructed as she made her way back to the bed. Hiccup raised a cheeky eyebrow.

“Just do it,” Astrid pushed him over and Hiccup rolled over obediently.

The blonde haired beauty flicked the light switch off and crawled over to straddle Hiccup’s waist, lifting his shirt to reveal smooth skin and a lean back. She pressed her warm fingers into the muscles as the base of his spine, smoothing away the tension, and kneading into the knots that had formed.

Hiccup felt himself relax into the pillow. Astrid gave the best massages. Soon the stiffness of his muscles eased, and he was disappointed to feel Astrid shift behind him. The mattress dipped as she lay down beside him.

“Better?” she asked again.

“Oh, you have no idea.”

Hiccup reached for the edge of his sheets with one hand, then snaked the other around Astrid’s waist to pull his girlfriend close. Astrid rolled over, pressing her back against Hiccup’s stomach. She arranged her braid over her shoulder and out of Hiccup’s face. Soft lips found the back of her neck and soon both were drifting off to sleep.


	8. Look Both Ways Before Crossing the Street

It was the phone call no one ever hopes to get.

Astrid was halfway through her first class of the morning when her phone went off, earning her a disapproving look from her tutor. Not recognising the number, Astrid silenced her phone and went back to work.

Ten minutes later she could feel her phone vibrating in her pocket again, a quick glance told her it was the same number. Astrid excused herself from her group and ducked out of the room to answer the call.

“Hello?”

“Hi this is Carol, I’m a nurse calling from Ravens Point Public Hospital. This number was listed under emergency contacts for a patient who was brought in this morning. Who am I talking to?”

Astrid’s blood ran cold.

“Uh, Astrid. I’m Astrid,” she stuttered.

“I’m hoping you can help me,” Carol continued. “The young man who was brought in, he’s going to be okay, he gave us your name when we asked if we could call anyone for him.” There was an indistinguishable murmur as though the nurse was talking to someone on the other side, but Astrid could not make out what they were saying. “He seems a bit confused. His ID lists him as Henry, but he keeps telling us his name is… uh Hiccup?” Carol finished.

“No,” it was more breath than word, escaping with the blood that drained from Astrid’s face, leaving her feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

“Astrid?” Carol sounded worried.

“H-hiccup, it’s a nickname,” she was on autopilot as she confirmed Hiccup’s details. “Uh, I can give you his Dad’s number-“

This time Astrid heard the nasal voice in the background. “Please don’t call my dad.” Relieved to hear his voice, Astrid slid to the floor in the corridor.

“Hiccup! Can I talk to him? Please, I’m his girlfriend.”

“Sure honey, I’ll put him on.”

More inaudible muttering and the phone seemed to change hands.

“Hey As,” Hiccup’s voice sounded strained and tired.

“What happened?” Astrid asked. “I just saw you two hours ago, and you were fine!”

“Crazy thing really. I was riding my bike to work, and there was this car that ran a light. It doesn’t matter. It’s okay. _I’m_ okay.”

“You better be,” Astrid warned. She picked herself up off the floor. “I’m heading to the hospital now. I’ll be there in twenty minutes okay?”

She heard Hiccup mumble something in response, before Carol the nurse returned to the phone. “Just ask for me when you get to the desk,” she was saying. Astrid wasn’t listening, she was already rushing to pick up her books when the line was disconnected.

Her keys were back in her room. Astrid sprinted back to the dormitories to dump her things and grab her wallet and car keys. The drive to the hospital itself was a blur and finding a carpark was a nightmare, but the time gave Astrid a chance to calm down. She’d spoken to Hiccup and he was okay. She was still anxious to see him and she walked quickly through the doors into the Emergency waiting room and up to the nurse on the desk.

“My boyfriend Hiccu- Henry Haddock was brought in. I was told to ask for Carol?” She waited impatiently, fingers drumming nervously on the counter as the nurse in front of her made a call.

“Just come round to the door dear.”

Astrid did as she was told and waited to be buzzed though. Another nurse led her past the curtained off beds into an empty cubicle. Well, an almost empty cubicle. Astrid caught sight of Hiccup’s discarded prosthetic leg or what was left of it. Once again she felt the breath rush out of her.

“Wait here, Carol will be by in a minute.”

The older woman turned to leave.

“Wait? Where’s Hiccup?”

“He’ll be back in a few minutes,” another nurse bustled into the small area cleaning away equipment that wasn’t needed. The woman reminded Astrid of her own mother with her dark blonde hair and warm eyes.

“He’s a very, very lucky young man. I’m Carol, I spoke to you earlier.”

Astrid found herself being guided to a chair. A small part of her was embarrassed for the way she was reacting. Mostly she was glad for the motherly figure who pulled up another seat so that they could talk face to face.

Carol followed Astrid’s gaze to the leg. She placed a kind hand on the girl’s knee. “He’s okay. A little shaken. The paramedics said he lost consciousness at the scene but the doctor has ruled out any serious injuries. We suspect his arm is broken, he’s off getting an x-ray. Other than that, it’s just cuts and bruises. There was a fairly deep laceration on his leg, caused by one of the pieces of his prosthetic. That’s already been cleaned and stitched.”

A bed was wheeled into the cubicle. Hiccup was half lying, half propped up on the raised bed.

“Heeey As!” He held out his good hand, Astrid got up to grab it.

“He’s had a bit of pain medication,” Carol commented, also rising. “He’s going to be a loopy for a bit and then he’s probably going to want to sleep, which is fine if he’s got someone to keep an eye on him.”

Astrid moved to sit on the edge of the bed so she could run a hand through Hiccup’s hair.

“I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Hiccup tried to scoot up so he was sitting straighter. He caught sight of his left pant leg, which was cut to allow the doctors access to the cut just below his knee. His normally pale skin, blanched grey.

“Not again.” His breathing came in short sharp bursts as he began to panic.

Astrid gripped Hiccup’s chin and forced him to look at her.

“Hiccup, babe, you’re okay. You were in an accident. Your leg is okay, just the prosthetic is damaged. He lost it in a similar accident five years ago,” Astrid explained for Carol’s benefit. She planted a kiss on her boyfriend’s cheek. “You’re lucky you’re so thick headed,” she joked.

“The doctor should be by in a bit to go over a few details. Henry will need to make an appointment to get a new prosthetic fitted, but he won’t be able to walk around on that leg until the stitches have been removed.”

“Oh, he’s going to love that,” Astrid remarked.

“He’s going to be sore for a few days. He probably won’t want to move around too much,” Carol walked over to the bed. “And we’ll sort out some crutches for him in the meantime so that he can get around.”

“I don’t feel sore,” Hiccup piped up from the bed. “I feel fantastic!” His whole demeanour had changed in a matter of seconds and the colour was back in his cheeks.

“Yeah, well, you’re high,” Astrid told him dryly. “Of course you feel good. You just wait until those painkillers wear off.”

Carol laughed softly from the end of the bed. “I’ll give you two some privacy,” she said, drawing the curtain and leaving the two nineteen-year olds alone.

“You should call your Dad.” Astrid stood and went to Hiccup’s satchel which was sitting on the floor in the corner. Rifling through it she she found his phone, still intact.

“That’ll be a fun conversation,” Hiccup uttered sarcastically. “Hey Dad. Guess who was hit by a car this morning? Don’t worry, I’ve still got the other leg.”

“He cares about you Hiccup.” Astrid returned to the bed. “Plus, you’ll have to tell him at some point.” She pointed to the discarded leg. “I doubt those things are cheap and the longer you put it off, the worse it will be.”

“I know,” Hiccup scrubbed his left hand – the right was in a bright green cast – across his face. “But he’ll want me to come home-“

“That’s probably a good idea,” Astrid cut in.

“We’re only halfway through the semester, I’ll miss too many classes!” Hiccup complained.

“How are you going to get to class? We live on the third floor of our dorm. Besides, you can watch your lectures online and I’m sure your tutors would understand.”

“I can do that from here and I’ll have crutches to get around.”

“Hiccup, you’re more bruise than man right now. I know you feel great now, but you’re going to feel like crap in a few hours.” Astrid placed Hiccup’s phone in his hand. “Just call him. We can sort the rest of it out later.”

*

It was late in the afternoon by the time the couple returned to campus stocked with painkillers and a set of crutches Hiccup could barely use. He’d protested the use of a wheelchair out to Astrid’s car, frustrated at his lack of mobility but gave in easily when informed it was hospital policy.  They were met in the campus carpark by Hiccup’s cousin Scott.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Astrid warned. “There’s no way I’m getting you up those stairs on my own.”

Hiccup conceded to the fact she was right.

“Hey Cuz, looks like you’re on your last leg,” Despite the teasing, Scott pulled the car door open so Hiccup could climb out of his seat.

“Oh ha, like you haven’t used that one before,” Hiccup winced as he stood.

Between the three of them, they got Hiccup upstairs to his room and Scott took his leave. Somewhat comfortable on his bed, Hiccup asked Astrid if she was going back to her classes.

“I’ve only got one more on today,” Astrid shrugged. “And I did tell the nurses I’d keep an eye on you.” She snatched Hiccup’s laptop off his desk and brought it over to the bed. She crawled up onto the bed beside her injured boyfriend and propped the computer on her lap. “I might need a few days off to keep an eye on you.” She winked playfully, the stresses of the day were finally past.  

Astrid started up a movie with the intention of taking it easy for the rest of the afternoon and within thirty minutes the excitement of the day had caught up with the both of them. Hiccup drifted off first before the opening credits had even finished playing. Not long after, Astrid found her own eyelids growing heavy and she nodded off beside him.


	9. Happy Birthday Hiccup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains some 'off-screen' sexy-times.

“…anyway, your dad was wondering if you’ll be coming home too,” Hiccup led his cousin up the hall through the dorms towards his room. “Because my dad wants to throw some kind of family get together, which is really just an excuse for him to talk about-“

Hiccup pushed the door open, words dying away in a strangled wheeze.

“A-Astid! You’re um-“

“Astrid, babe,” Scott cut his cousin off. “This is a side of you I’ve never seen before.” He leant casually against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest. “I’ve got to say I like it.”

One of Hiccup’s heavy textbooks came flying from the direction of the bed.

“Get out Snotlout!”

Astrid’s voice was muffled by the quilt she’s used to hide herself.

Hiccup shook off the paralysis that had gripped him since he’d stumbled into his room with Scott. He turned and pushed a complaining Scott from the room, slamming the door and ignoring the jibes from the other side.

“Oh _come on_!” The door handle jiggled, but Hiccup had already locked the door. “I wish it was my birthday.” Though more of a mutter, Hiccup heard it clearly through the door. He leaned with his back against the cool wood and sighed a sigh of relief as the heavy _thud_ of footsteps informed him of his cousin’s departure.

He looked over at the huddled lump on his bed.

“You can come out now,” he joked.

The lump shook what Hiccup guessed to be a head.

“It’s not that bad…” Hiccup moved towards the bed.

“You are joking right?” Astrid stuck her head out from beneath the covers. The sheets had mused her hair, casting wisps of blonde across her face. Her cheeks were rosy from the heat in the room and the embarrassment of Scott walking in on her practically naked.

“You know he is never going to let me live this one down?” She complained, flopping over onto her back.

“People see you in your swimmers all the time,” Hiccup reminded her. “It’s basically the same amount of fabric.”

“This,” Astrid kicked off the sheets to reveal the lacy blue bra and underwear combination she was sporting. “Is not the same thing.”

Hiccup was gobsmacked. Though Astrid had been in his bed many times over the year they had been together, and he in hers, this was the first she’d dressed up- _or down_ – for the occasion. The periwinkle blue lace matched her eyes. Or it would if she didn’t have her hands covering them.

“You’re right,” he conceded. “Totally not the same thing.” He climbed onto the bed. “It’s much better.” His hands wandered out towards Astrid’s waist.

“Oh no,” Astrid warned. “Not now. Your cousin is a complete mood killer. _And_ you were late. I’ve been waiting for you for over an hour.”

Hiccup couldn’t help chuckling.

“I’m sorry Milady, I got held up. If I’d known you’d been waiting for me I’d have been home straight away.”

“It was supposed to be a surprise for your birthday,” Astrid pulled the sheet back over herself.

“I was surprised,” Hiccup assured her. “And I’m sure _Snotlout_ was very surprised too.”

Quick as lightning, Astrid snagged one of Hiccup’s pillows and wacked him over the head, sending him tumbling backwards onto the floor.

“I kind of expected that one,” he braced himself on his elbows to grin at Astrid who was peering over the edge of the bed. His pillow was still clutched in her hands but she was smiling too.

“Really As? You wouldn’t hit a one legged man, especially on his birthday.” He let his head fall back, a picture of utter dejection.

“I already did,” Astrid tossed the pillow down and Hiccup spluttered when it hit him in the face. She raised herself up to kneel on the bed, hands on hips. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Oh I’m just going to lie here and enjoy the view.” Hiccup smirked and quickly raised his hands to protect himself from the second pillow that came flying at him.

“Hiccup Haddock, take off your pants!” Astrid demanded.

This had Hiccup up on his elbows again.

“What? Right now?”

“No, tomorrow in class.” Astrid rolled her eyes. “Yes, right now, you idiot. It’s not fair that I’m the only one sitting around in my underwear. Off!”

“Of course Milady!” Hiccup tried to give a little bow from where he was lying before reaching for his waistband and lifting his hips to wriggle out of his jeans. “You know, this wasn’t what I was expected when you told me you had a surprise for me. I figured we’d have dinner out or something. I made a reservation for-”

Astrid reached down to grab Hiccup’s skinny arms and pull him onto the bed.  “You only get a proper birthday every four years,” she told him. “Thought I’d make it one you’d remember.” She silenced further chatter with a kiss. “Now stop talking.”

*

Hiccup ducked back inside, pizza in hand. He shrugged out of the shirt and shorts he’d thrown on to meet the delivery guy and climbed back into bed with Astrid.

“You know I’ve always preferred eating in,” he teased as he placed the box down on the bedside table.

“Sure Hiccup,” Astrid snagged a slice of pizza. “You cancelled our dinner reservations for pizza and not for any other reason at all.” She winked.

“You’re right,” Hiccup admitted. “Maybe I had other things on my mind, but it’s my birthday. I think I can be forgiven. Besides, this is probably one of the… better birthday’s I’ve had.” He ducked away from Astrid’s playful slap. “Definitely top five.”

“You’ve technically only had five birthdays!” Astrid laughed. “Well I’m never doing this again, you’re on your own next time.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Hiccup plucked the half eaten pizza slice from Astrid’s greasy fingers and stuffed it in his mouth. “It’s at least top three.” He gulped down the pizza as Astrid attacked him and pushed him back down onto the bed.

“We’ll see about that.”


	10. Sometimes you need a sick day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was finished and I had no intention of adding to it... but then this happened.

Usually Astrid was the first up and ready for the day.

Years of getting up early to feed Stormfly before swimming and school had trained her to be a morning person. Hiccup, on the other hand, had the tendency to stay up late, pottering around his room at night or messing around with one of his projects. As a result, he tended to oversleep in the morning. If it wasn’t for Astrid bursting into his room -far too cheerfully- and bounding onto his bed, Hiccup would have missed most of his morning classes.

However, on this particular morning Hiccup was woken by his alarm clock and not by his girlfriend. He rolled over and lay in bed a moment longer, unwilling to leave the warm comfort of his blankets. A quick glance at the clock told him that he was going to be late if he didn’t move soon.

With a groan Hiccup pushed back the covers, shivering against the frigid air of his room. He sat up reluctantly and rolled up the left leg of his sweatpants. Awkwardly, he leant over the edge of the bed and grabbed his prosthetic from the floor, attaching it to his leg. Despite the thick liner, the hard outer socket was cold against the end of his leg. It made the scar ache which was common this time of year.

Standing stiffly, Hiccup shuffled across the floor and grabbed a hoody he’d flung over his chair before bed. Astrid still hadn’t appeared. Finally, he’d get a chance to wake _her_ up.

He shuffled out of his room, arching onto his toes when his right foot hit the cold linoleum of the hall.

The dorms were quiet. Most of the residents were huddled in their rooms, trying to ignore the fact that they had classes and that exams were coming up soon. Hiccup was able to slip across to Astrid’s room without running into his cousin or any of the students who lived on his floor.

Astrid’s door was not locked - a sure sign that she was still in her room.

They were all pretty lax about security. No one really owned anything worth taking and most only locked their doors when they went out.

Hiccup eased the door open and snuck across the room. He was about to pounce on the bed when he noticed the tissues that littered the small bedside table and spilled down onto the floor. Instead, Hiccup sat on the edge of the bed by the Astrid sized bundle of blankets.

“Hey As?”

He put his hand on what he thought was her shoulder.

Astrid groaned and rolled over.

“What time is it?” She asked groggily. Only her red-rimmed eyes were visible over the edges of her covers.

“Almost nine am.”

Astrid coughed and pushed her covers away. She went to sit up in bed. “I’m going to be late.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Hiccup his hands on Astrid’s shoulders. “You look awful.” She glared at him with glassy eyes. “You know what I meant,” he dropped his hands. “You’re sick.”

“I’m fine,” Astrid covered her mouth quickly and coughed into her hands.

“Astrid, you’re not going to fail your classes if you take one day off.”

“But exams-“

“Are still weeks away!”

Astrid flopped back down on her bed and closed her eyes against the pounding in her head. Staying wrapped up in her blankets sounded so much nicer than braving the cold outside. Hiccup’s voice was a comforting rumble beside her. Astrid realised he was still talking.

“You should rest, I could make you some soup.”

Astrid cracked one eye open. “In our kitchen?” She asked, sceptical.

“Okay, so I’m not going to make you soup,” Hiccup grinned. The shared kitchen was disgusting, no one ever cooked in there if they could help it. “But I could _buy_ you some soup.”

“You should go to class,” Astrid croaked.

“I will,” Hiccup promised. “I’ve just got the one this morning, so I’ll be back by lunch time.” He bent over to kiss Astrid on the forehead. She tried to push him away, mumbling that she’d infect him.

“Never going to happen,” Hiccup stood. “I have an amazing immune system.

He rushed back to his room to change into jeans and shove his beanie over his hair. Astrid had been teasing him over how long it was getting and twisting braids into the shaggy locks. Hiccup would never hear the end of it if any of their friends saw. His sneaker was under his bed and Hiccup had to get onto his hands and knees to reach it. Rising from the floor he snatched his books off his desk and shoved them into his backpack before leaving his room.

Outside the wind was bitter. It had snowed overnight, but most of it had turned to mush as the sun rose. The path was slippery as a result. Hiccup took off down the path, but only made if a few metres before his leg skidded on the ice and he went down.

There was a snicker from nearby as some random wandered past.

Hiccup could feel the melting snow soaking into his pants.

“You know what?” He mumbled to himself. “Screw class.” He could afford to take one day off and he was already running so late. He stood carefully, rubbing his backside gingerly. “Stupid leg.” He turned and hobbled for home.

Within a matter of minutes he was back in his room, kicking off his shoe and shrugging out of his wet pants. He pulled his sweats back on and went to see if Astrid was still up.

“You’re back early.” She was sitting in bed, reading a textbook.

“It was too cold outside,” Hiccup complained. “Move over.” He hopped onto the bed and tugged the book out of her hands.

“You’re hopeless.” Astrid raised the corner of her blankets to let her boyfriend snuggled in beside her. “And you’re cold.”

“Which is why I’m in here and not outside in the snow.”

Outside it had begun to rain. It beat heavily against the window.

“It’s a sign from the universe,” Hiccup declared. “This is movie weather.”

Astrid rolled her eyes. “How on earth are you even passing your classes?” She asked, reaching for another tissue. She sneezed into the white square and wiped her red nose.

“I’m just that clever.” Hiccup reached down to snag Astrid’s laptop from the floor. He opened it up on his lap and waited for the computer to start up. Astrid took the opportunity to snuggle up close to her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head against his chest. Hands snaked under the hem of his shirt to rest on warm skin.

“Toasty warm,” she mumbled. She curled up tighter against Hiccup and flung her leg across his. She pulled back with a shiver when warm flesh touched cold metal. “Babe, your leg is freezing. Take it off.”

“But what if I need to get up and get something?”

“Then you can put it back on.”

“It’ll get cold on the floor.”

“It’s cold _now_.”

Hiccup threw the covers aside, almost sending the laptop flying. The left leg of his pants had hiked up when he’d climbed in, baring metal. Quickly he rolled the leg up and tugged off the prosthetic.

“You’re lucky I like you,” he grumbled.

“You like me?” Astrid feigned wide-eyed surprise. “Like, _like_ like me?”

“Ha ha, you’re so hilarious when you’re sick.” Hiccup clicked open the computer program with one hand, while the other snaked around Astrid’s shoulders.

“Babe, I’m hilarious all the time.” Astrid coughed again, rough and grating against her throat. “Seriously though, you’re going to get sick too if you stay here.”

“No way,” Hiccup bragged. “No illness can touch me. I’m _way_ too tough.”

“Fine,” Astrid relaxed back against Hiccup again as the opening credits of the movie began to play. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

They settled down to watch Netflix as the rain poured outside.

*

Three days later Astrid bounded cheerfully into Hiccup’s room.

“Wake-up sleepy head, you’re going to be late.” She leapt onto the bed and gave the lump a playful shove.

“Ugh,” the lump moaned and sneezed.

Astrid pulled down the blankets just far enough that Hiccup’s face was visible. His freckles stood out on his too pale face. His nose looked red and raw.

“Need sleep. Dying,” he croaked, pulling his covers back up over his head.

“You are not dying, you caught my cold,” Astrid informed him. “But you should probably call your boss and ask for a day off.”

A single hand stuck out from the covers. Astrid pressed Hiccup’s phone into the searching fingers.

“I’ll come by later and we can watch movies or something,” she offered.

Another hand shot out from under the blankets to wrap about Astrid’s waist. She let herself be pulled down onto the bed.

“You should stay,” Hiccup’s voice was muffled by sickness and sheets. “You’re nice and warm.” He pulled Astrid close and pressed his face into her hair.

“I’ve got things to do,” Astrid argued half-heartedly. She didn’t have _that_ much to do and it was still early on a Saturday morning. Hiccup’s bed was warm and it was a long, cold walk to the library.

Outside it was raining again. A sign from the universe. Astrid kicked off her sneakers and pulled her legs up onto the bed. She could study later.


	11. Let's Move In Together

“Let’s move in together.”

“What?”

“Let’s move in together.”

It was winter break. Exams were over. Results were out. Astrid and Hiccup had gone back to Berk for the holidays. They were sprawled out on Hiccup’s couch. His dad was away on a business trip and they’d had the place to themselves all week.

“Think about it,” Hiccup had his legs up on the coffee table, Astrid’s head was in his lap. They’d been drinking beer, watching some movie that was now playing unnoticed in the background as the conversation changed from university to life after.

“We’d never have to deal with the fire alarms going off in the middle of the night,” he joked, reminding her of their first few nights living on campus.

“We could actually cook in the kitchen without risking food poisoning.”

“Not with your cooking.” Hiccup’s teasing earned him a smack.

Astrid twisted in Hiccup’s lap, rousing Toothless who had been sleeping beside her. The shaggy, black dog raised his head, blinking slowly then settling down again.

“Well, perhaps with that attitude, maybe I’ll just go home,” Astrid teased, moving to sit up.

“No, stay,” Hiccup wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. “I’m being serious.”

“About my cooking?”

“About moving in together.”

“I mean, it makes sense I guess.”

“You guess? Geez As, way to sound excited about it.”

“I am,” Astrid insisted. “Really, I like you-“

“You like me? Thank goodness for that,” Hiccup rolled his eyes. “And here I was thinking you’ve been hating me for the last three years.”

Astrid smacked him again. “You’re an idiot. You know what I meant.”

“Are you trying to tell me you _like_ like me?”

“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”

“I am, and I can wait _alllll_ night.”

“You get too cocky when you drink.”

“And you get all sentimental. Say it.”

“Fine, I love you!”

“You love me!”

“Shut up!”

“Or what?”

Astrid planted her lips against Hiccup’s.

“Okay, that’ll do it.” Hiccup pulled Astrid back towards him enjoying the feeling of her soft lips against his own.

“Don’t you think it’s getting late?” Astrid asked mischievously. She trailed her lips down. Each word was a puff off warm breath against Hiccup’s jaw. “Maybe we should go to bed?” She pushed herself up off the couch and Hiccup was quick to scramble after her.

*

“Were you trying to distract me?”

“Hmm?” Astrid rolled over so that she could face her boyfriend.

“Last night?” Hiccup propped himself up on an elbow.

“Maybe,” Astrid admitted. “You surprised me.” She looked thoughtful. “But I have been thinking about it too. This is our last year of uni. It’s almost over and we don’t know where we’re going to be this time next year.”

“Where do you want to be?” Hiccup asked.

He felt Astrid shrug beneath the covers.

“I’m not sure yet.”

“We’ve both got jobs in Raven’s Point. I’m not planning on going anywhere soon.”

“Me either, it’s just… so adult.“

“This coming from the girl who’s mapped out her whole future. I’ve met your parents. Heard the stories. According to them, you’ve been wanting to be an adult since you were a kid.”

“I should never have introduced you to my mum.” Astrid shuffled up on the bed so that she was sitting against the wall.

“Your mum loves me.” Hiccup took Astrid’s hands to pull her back down beside him.

“Okay,” Astrid smiled.

“Okay?”

“Let’s do this. We can look for a place, somewhere with a yard for Toothless-“

“You _have_ been thinking about this!”

Astrid blushed. “Yeah, I said I-“

“Hiccup you home?” They were interrupted by Stoick bursting into the bedroom.

“Oh, gods, dad!” Hiccup sat up quickly as Astrid pulled the covers right up past her shoulders. “Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?!”

Stoick stood there in the doorway, not moving.

“ _Dad! Get out of my room!”_

Turning a shade of red to match his beard, Stoick ducked out of the room.

Hiccup let his head fall forward into his palms and groaned.

“And I thought Snotlout walking in on me would be the most embarrassing thing ever,” Astrid peaked out from behind the sheets. “Turns out I was wrong.”

“I’m sorry,” Hiccup lifted his head.

Astrid was biting her lip against a smile. She started to laugh. “You should have seen his face.”

“You should have seen mine!” Hiccup was grinning. “I can never show my face out there ever again.”

“We can’t stay in here forever,” Astrid reminded him.

“I know,” Hiccup groaned again. “You can use the shower first, I’m going to try and do some damage control.” He leaned down to retrieve his foot from the floor and put it on. The room was cold as he made the quick dash to his closet to pull on jeans and a hoody. “Wish me luck.”

The bedroom door opened and closed as Hiccup left the room.

Astrid heard a muffled ‘woof’ and the sounds of her boyfriend talking to his dog.

“Come on bud, a warning would have been nice.”

Astrid bit back another grin, hiding her face in her hands for a moment before getting up and gathering her clothing. She checked that the coast was clear before ducking across to the bathroom.

Clean and warm, Astrid made her way to the kitchen, where she could hear Hiccup talking to his father.

“Are you being safe?”

_“Dad!”_

Hiccup was sitting on the edge of the couch, head in his hands.

“I’m just asking-“

“We’ve been together for three years, I really don’t need the safe sex talk.”

“How come I’ve never met her until now?”

Hiccup shrugged. “I figured you disagreed with my career choice, maybe you’d disagree with this too. Seemed easier this way.”

Stoick’s face fell.

“Hiccup. I know I said that… but… I _am_ proud of you.”

“Thanks… uh Dad, but can we- uh… can we never talk about this morning ever again… please.”

Stoick chuckled.

Astrid took the opportunity to step out of the hallway.

“So you must be Astrid.”

“Yes Sir,”

“Please, call me Stoick.” The large man was pulling food out of the fridge. Astrid could see the family resemblance between him and his son. Hiccup was well on his way to being as tall as his father. “I’ve heard a lot about you over the years,” Stoick was still talking as he cracked eggs on the stove, ignoring his son’s obvious discomfort in the corner. “but can’t believe we’re only just meeting now. You hungry?” Stoick gestured to the frypan on the stove.

“Starving.” Astrid grinned. She took a seat at the kitchen bench, patting the seat next to her. Hiccup came and took a seat beside her. Toothless trotted up to sit at their feet.

“So did Hiccup tell you we’re moving in together?”

Stoick dropped the carton of milk he was holding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Come find me on Tumblr](https://dragontails89.tumblr.com/)


	12. Were you ever going to tell me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided this happens in this universe somewhere.  
> Based on a prompt.

 

“Were you ever going to tell me?” Astrid stormed over towards Hiccup.

“I’m telling you now!”

“No, I found out.” Astrid dropped the envelope containing Hiccup’s final pay check on the table. “Would you have said anything if I hadn’t found out?

“Of course I would! It’s just… I wasn’t sure how. I know you’ve been stressed about your own job and about the house and… I was scared.”

Astrid sighed, long and hard, her breath fluttering the bangs around her face. “You should have just said something, instead of lying to me every day.”

“I know, I just-“

“That’s the bit that got me Hiccup, the lying. You’re a terrible liar. I knew something was going on, but I didn’t know what.”

“You knew? How long?” Hiccup toyed with the white envelope, waiting but Astrid said nothing, her face was flushed with anger.

“Astrid, how long?”

“A week.”

“A week?“ Hiccup ran a hand through his hair and drew a breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Astrid no longer sounded so mad, just disappointed, which was worse. Hiccup stared down at his feet, ashamed.

“I was going to when I found another job.”

“You should’ve just told me you were fired. I wouldn’t have been angry if you-“

“Fired?” Hiccup looked up in confusion. “Astrid, I quit.”

“What?” Now Astrid was confused. “Why?”

“I just wasn’t sure it was something I wanted anymore.” Hiccup was looking down again, refusing to meet Astrid’s gaze. “

She bent to get herself into Hiccup’s line of sight, gripping his chin gently and lifting his face to look at her.

“What _do_ you want?” She asked softly.

Hiccup shrugged. “I don’t know what I want any more.” He told her. “I guess I was so eager… to get away from Berk, away from Dad and the future he had planned out for me. I took the first course I was accepted in to and it was challenging and it was fun, but I’ve ended right back up in the same job he wanted me to have and he keeps asking me to come home but he promised me!”

Hiccup pulled away from his girlfriend and sat down hard on the couch. “He promised me twelve months! I know I should have talked it over with you first.” He picked at the worn fibres of the couch. Toothless trotted over to sit between Hiccup’s feet. “But I panicked… and it just happened.”

Astrid felt all the anger leave her.

“I thought you liked your job.”

“I did, but I couldn’t cope with Dad ringing every. single. day. asking when I was ‘going to make the next logical step and come home.’” Hiccup crooked his fingers into air quotes.

“You know he just wants what’s best for you.” Astrid took a seat beside her boyfriend.

“I know that, but he’s going about it all wrong. I don’t want the life he’s got planned for me. I _never_ wanted that.”

“What do you want?” Astrid pulled her feet up onto the couch, wrapping her arms around her legs.

“This. Us.” Hiccup reached out and pulled Astrid towards him. “Right now, that’s the only thing I’m sure about.”

Astrid relaxed into Hiccup’s arms.

“You need to do what you think’s right,” she told him. “The rest will come, and your dad… he’ll get over it.”

“Thanks Astrid.”

“You’re welcome,” Astrid turned to kiss Hiccup’s cheek. “But babe, don’t ever lie to me again.”

Hiccup nodded earnestly. He’d never intended to keep this from Astrid in the first place, but the longer it went on, the harder it had been to form the words.

Astrid pulled away from Hiccup’s embrace and stood. Toothless quickly jumped up to take her place on the couch.

“Where are you going?”

“Nowhere, I’ve just got a few errands I need to run.” As Astrid stepped on to the front porch, she pulled out her phone. She had a phone call to make.

“Hey Stoick, yeah it’s Astrid. Look, we need to talk…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am 100% down with Astrid telling Stoick to back off. And Stoick would do it too because he loves her like a daughter and knows she’s got Hiccup’s back just as much as he does.
> 
> [Come find me on Tumblr](https://dragontails89.tumblr.com/)


	13. Time Flies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my Dad has this clock and he was asking me how to go about cleaning it (you don’t understand its _marble_ ). And though my degree is in restoration, it’s in painting restoration which is a whole other thing. Anyway, he then decided I needed to learn how to set the time on this thing (because Dads- amirite??? “You’ll need to know how to do this one day” were his exact words).
> 
> I decided to jot the conversation and then decided it had been awhile since I wrote anything for the college AU… So have this short lil thing.

 

“Hey Dad, I’m heading off.” Hiccup picked his keys up off the bench. They jangled together softly as he wandered through the house looking for his father. His bag was sitting by the door ready for Astrid to come pick him up so they could head back to college.

Hiccup had had a surprisingly good semester break at home. He’d built up his expectations for an argument that had never happened. Stoick had seemed happy just to see his son and had been absolutely ecstatic, when Astrid had shown up with him.

“Dad?” Hiccup turned in a circle in the kitchen. It wasn’t a huge house, there weren’t _that_ many hiding places for a man as large as Stoick.

There was a thud from the study. It was right next to the kitchen, but Hiccup had walked straight past it because the door had been closed. He pushed it open now and saw his father leaning over a small clock sitting on the bookcase.

“How does one go about cleaning marble?” Stoick ran a thick finger across the top of the clock.

“Uh, I dunno. Look, Dad, Astrid will be here in a minute and-“

“Do I need a special cloth or-“ Stoick trailed off, glancing up at his son.

“I honestly have no idea.” Hiccup peered around his father’s shoulder.

“But you’re doing that-“ Stoick waved his hands around. “You know… your degree.”

Hiccup felt his mouth flop open. He shook his head in disbelief. “At no point has anyone taught me how to clean marble,” he told his father. “What exactly do you think I’m studying?”

A horn sounded outside. There was a skittering of nails against the tiles as Toothless bolted out to meet Astrid at the front door. There was the tell-tale squeak of the driver’s side door and then a voice high-pitched in excitement greeting the large dog.

Twisting to look back through the doorway, Hiccup called out to Astrid, letting her know he’d be out soon.

“Look at this.”

Hiccup turned back to his dad. “Look at what?”

“It’s a clock, son.”

He resisted the urge to wack himself in the forehead. “Uh, I can see that dad… but-“

Stoick beamed down at the timepiece. “This clock has been in our family for generations.”

The screen door at the front of the house clattered as Astrid let herself in.

“Uh, that’s… um… cool I guess.” Hiccup watched his father fiddle with the back casing of the clock. Stoick leant forward again, placing his ear against the cool stone.

“You can hear the pendulum swinging.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes behind his father’s back. “I bet you can.”

A shadow fell across the door. Astrid watched the exchange in silence. Hiccup made a motion, _one more minute_ and she nodded. Toothless rested his head on her knee, giving her big mournful eyes until Astrid gave in and scratched him under the chin.

“Dad, I really gotta go,” Hiccup tried again. “We want to be back before it gets dark.”

“Wait, I’ve gotta teach you how to start it.” Stoick was turning the clock back around.

Hiccup took a step back, edging towards the kitchen. “Right now? Dad, Astrid’s waiting and-“

“This is important Hiccup.”

“It’s a clock,” the boy pointed out. He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. He’d been in Berk for a week and his father had chosen the very last minute to bring this up. “Go on then.” Hiccup waved his hand at his dad to go ahead.

He watched as his dad pointed out the different features of the clock, gesturing to the tiny swinging pendulum and showing Hiccup how to set it moving.

“You know I’ll be back at the end of next semester, right?” Hiccup asked his Dad. “This couldn’t have waited until then?”

“I know son.” Stoick straightened, clapping his son on the shoulder. He followed Hiccup out of the study. “Astrid. Hiccup, why didn’t you say she was waiting? How are you lass?”

“I dunno Dad, I only mentioned it three times,” Hiccup mumbled. He knelt down beside the table to give Toothless a good scratch behind the ears.

Stoick offered them both tea. Astrid declined much more gracefully then Hiccup would have. They needed to get on the road before it got too late.

“You ready?” She asked.

Hiccup had moved to sit with splayed legs, Toothless was on his back, tail wagging on the floor between them.

“Almost.” He gathered the large dog up in his arms. “You think we could sneak him back onto campus?”


	14. Ruptured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What am I doing? I don't know. This is a pretty shameless sickfic. I thought it up while driving the long and boring route from my parents place back to the city I live in. It kept me going for three hours and when I got home I decided to write it... and it kinda snowballed. I've been sitting on it since Sunday and I decided to post the damn thing. So here it is.
> 
> I have taken many artistic liberties. I am an arts student, not a medical student. Hopefully the internet has helped this not sound totally fake (what an awfully worded sentence) but I'm aware that this isn't quite accurate.

 

"Hiccup, wake up, you're going to be late."

"What time is it?"

"Eight-thirty."

Hiccup groaned and rolled over, scrubbing the sleep away from his eyes. He sat up slowly, ignoring the sick, crampy feeling in his stomach. He only had two exams left before the Christmas Holidays began. If he could hold out for the next two days, he'd get two weeks off work and university back in Berk.

They had gone to bed late the night before. Hiccup had vague memories of Astrid heading back to her own room sometime after midnight.

"My exam is at two," Astrid was searching the room for any notes she may have left lying around. "So I'll be gone when you get back, but I'll be back by five so we can do this _all_ over again for tomorrow." She stopped, straightening to peer at Hiccup.

"You feeling okay?" She made her way to the bed. She brushed her fingers across her boyfriend's forehead.

"Just tired, I think," Hiccup sat up on the bed, swinging his legs over the edge. "Can you hand me those?" He gestured wearily at the pants he'd thrown over the back of his chair before falling into bed. While Astrid fetched them, he reached down to retrieve his prosthetic from the floor, jamming his leg into the socket.

He pulled the pants on over his boxers and threw on a jumper. Astrid handed him his beanie. There had been a fresh dumping of wet, slushy snow overnight. It was going to be cold outside, but Hiccup figured he'd warm up on the run to the exam hall.

"I'll see you later," he told Astrid, planting a kiss on her cheek. He snatched his bag from the floor and threw a few pens and his calculator inside.

Then he ran.

The exam hall was on the opposite side of the campus to the residential buildings.

Hiccup was hot and sweating by the time he reached the hall. Students were beginning to shuffle into the building and take their seats. Hiccup remembered belatedly to pull his student card out of his wallet to show as he walked into the hall.

Once sitting he had a chance to catch his breath.

The heaters were on full blast, struggling to heat the large room. Most of the students were still wearing their beanies and wrapped in their scarves. Hiccup could feel the sweat on his back cooling, adding another layer to the discomfort he felt. The instructor at the front of the room read out the instructions with a monotonous drone. Finally, he gave the students permission to begin. Hiccup turned his paper over and started reading. The exam only went for two hours. If he was lucky he'd be done in one.

Hiccup picked up his pen and started writing.

Despite feeling off, he managed to finish his paper early, handing it in and making the cold journey back to the residences. He only had one more exam before he was free for the holidays.

Hiccup let himself into his room, eyeing the books piled up on his desk. With a sigh, he dumped his bag on the ground and plucked his notes for his final subject off the messy table. He kicked his shoe off and sat down on his bed, crossing his legs and opening the book to reread his notes.

"Hey sleepyhead."

Hiccup opened his eyes. He'd dozed off slouched against the wall. Astrid was bent over, palms flat on the bedspread.

"You want to go get something to eat?"

A glance out the window confirmed that night had fallen. Hiccup must have slept through most of the afternoon. He stretched out his legs, grimacing as a wave of nausea rolled through his stomach and shook his head.

"I'm not really feeling hungry," he told Astrid.

She frowned. "You sure?"

Hiccup nodded. "But I'll come with you to come get something." He stood up from the bed. "It'll give me a chance to wake up properly after that nap."

"Don't worry about it." Astrid pulled out her phone. "I'll just order pizza or something. We can squeeze in some last-minute study."

Hiccup shrugged and sat back down. "I got a bit of study done today," he lied. He wasn't sure what time he'd fallen asleep, but he couldn't have been more than a few pages into his notes. "And my exam isn't until tomorrow afternoon. I might just crash early and try to catch up on some sleep."

They'd spent most of the previous week pulling all-nighters to finish assignments and the exam period had been no different. Hiccup figured he'd feel better after a decent night's sleep.

"You sure?" Astrid cupped Hiccup's cheek, running her hand up to rest a moment on his forehead. He didn't feel warm, so Astrid dropped her hand. "Okay then," she stood up. "I'll be in my room if you need anything."

Astrid left Hiccup alone in his room. He got comfortable on his bed, his notes laid out in front of him. He read for about an hour before giving up and turning off his light.

Hiccup woke several times during the night. His stomach was cramping painfully. He curled tighter beneath his covers and eventually went back to sleep.

"I think I'm coming down with something," he complained later that morning. Astrid was always the first one up. She'd tiptoed into Hiccup's room around seven am, making herself comfortable on the end of his bed with a cup of tea. She'd been instrumental in ensuring Hiccup had made it to all his morning classes that semester. "I dunno," Hiccup continued. "Maybe I'm just stressed about this last exam. It's my worst subject."

Astrid sat on the edge on the bed.

"You do look a little pale," she noted. "You might have a temperature," she held her hand to his head. "It could just be you're still warm from being in bed."

"I just don't want to spend the Christmas holidays laid up with the flu." He was complaining again.

"Come eat some toast or something," Astrid suggested. "Maybe that'll help settle your stomach."

Hiccup pulled a face at the idea, but did as he was told.

The food did not help to settle his stomach. If anything, it made it worse.

The hours until Hiccup's exam dragged on. He flipped through his notes half-heartedly, unable to pay attention for long. He contemplated skipping the exam, but that just seemed like too much effort. Missing the exam meant going to the doctor for a note, applying for and then sitting a supplementary exam. Or, he could suck it up and get the test over and done with today.

Hiccup decided to go to the exam. He grabbed his things and went across the hall to Astrid's room. Together they made their way over to the exam hall just before two o'clock and took their separate places with all the other students.

Hiccup sat in his chair, halfway through his final exam, nausea churning in his gut. His head was resting against the cool wooden veneer of the desk and Hiccup was swallowing down the queasiness. He stared at the paper sitting unfinished. There were only a few more questions to go but the pain was getting really bad. At first his whole stomach had just been a dull ache, but now it seemed to be focused in one sharp spot.

Making up his mind, Hiccup stacked the sheets together and raised his hand. One of the instructors came over to collect the papers and excuse the boy from the hall.

Hiccup barely made it to the bathroom in time, retching into the toilet bowl. His stomach ached from trying to bring up the small amounts of food and water he'd managed to choke down at lunch.

Feeling a little better, he flushed the toilet and washed his hands, before making his way slowly back to the college residences.

"Hey, what happened, I saw you leave." Astrid burst into Hiccup's room an hour later.

He shut his laptop, careful not to move too quickly. "Yeah, I wasn't feeling well." He scratched his head, embarrassed. "I almost humiliated myself in front of several hundred people."

Astrid frowned in concern. "Do you still want to head back to Berk tonight?" She asked. They had been planning to leave as soon as their exams were over and get home before it got too dark. "We can wait until you're feeling better if you want."

"No, it's fine. Really." Hiccup assured her. Christmas was only three days away and he was looking forward to seeing his Dad and Toothless. "I've already packed and Dad called yesterday. He sounded so excited."

"If you're sure…" Astrid gave Hiccup the chance to reconsider, but he just nodded. "I'll just grab my things then." Astrid ducked out, returning a few minutes later with her prepacked bag. Shall we go?"

It was a three-hour drive to Berk. Given the dark and snow conditions, Astrid drove slower than usual, her eyes fixed on the bitumen ahead of them.

Hiccup tried to keep up with the conversation, his arms wrapped protectively around his stomach. Astrid had the heater blasting warm air at him, thinking that he was cold.

He let his head rest against the window and squeezed his eyes shut.

…

"Where are we?" Hiccup voice was laced with sleep. He had slept for most of the drive and had only just woken as Astrid turned down her long driveway.

"My place," Astrid's gaze was fixed on the patch of road illuminated by her headlights. "I hope you don't mind. I can get mum to give you a lift into town if you want, but I just needed a break from driving. I'm exhausted."

"I'm sorry," Hiccup felt guilty. Usually they shared the driving. It was a boring trip on the best of days and the few times they'd made the journey they at least kept each other entertained. This time Hiccup hadn't been about to concentrate on anything other than the ache in his stomach. It had become so much worse since he'd fallen asleep. He felt sick and shaky and was glad they'd be out of the car soon.

"Don't worry about it. You're not feeling well." Astrid turned the last corner before her house. The porch lights were on and it was a welcoming sight. "Mum can probably give you something if your stomach's still bothering you. I swear she could stock a pharmacy with the stuff she keeps in the first aid kit."

She pulled up outside the house and cut the engine. The night air was frigid, spilling into the car when she opened the car door.

"You're here earlier than expected." Astrid's mum had come out on to the porch, wrapped tightly in her dressing gown.

"Yeah, we both finished our exams early," Astrid motioned to Hiccup who was slowly unfolding himself from the car, "and I was too tired to drop Hiccup off first."

"Well, he's welcome to spend the night."

"Thanks Mrs Hofferson," Hiccup said wearily. Moving hurt. Breathing hurt. He was regretting straightening up. His face blanched and he bent over, puking into the bushes beside the driveway.

"Babe?" Astrid moved around the car. Her mum came down the front stairs to stand in front of Hiccup, taking his ashen complexion.

"No offense love, but you look awful," she told him. She guided him inside, noting the way his hand hovered protectively over his stomach.

"He hasn't been feeling well." Astrid dumped their bags by the front door and shut it, preventing any warm air from escaping.

"Oh no, that's no good," Mrs Hofferson turned back to her daughter's boyfriend, directing him to sit on the couch. Each movement had him wincing. "How long have you been throwing up Hiccup?"

"Just today," he replied shakily.

"Watch out, she's going into nurse mode," Astrid whispered. Hiccup smiled despite the discomfort.

"You think you could have eaten something bad?"

"If I had, Astrid would be sick too." Hiccup looked to Astrid to confirm. "It was just a stomach ache. It didn't really get bad until just now."

Mrs Hofferson frowned. "Does is hurt anywhere in particular?" She asked.

Hiccup shook his head, gesturing to his stomach with a circular hand motion. "Sort of just everywhere. But now-" His right hand moved down towards his hip. "it's pretty bad here."

Astrid's mother looked at him thoughtfully. "Do you think you could lie back for a moment?" She asked.

"Why?" Hiccup wasn't sure he wanted to move at all. He just wanted to go to bed.

"I just want to check something."

Astrid came over to stand by her mother.

Hiccup lay back gingerly on the sofa.

"This might hurt," Mrs Hofferson pressed her fingers into Hiccup's abdomen, between his right hip and his navel. He grunted. It did hurt. It hurt a lot, and then Mrs Hofferson pulled her fingers away and white hot pain was stabbing him in the stomach.

Hiccup groaned, curling in on himself.

"What was that?" Astrid asked her mum. She knelt on the floor beside the couch, running a comforting hand through Hiccup's hair.

"I'm going to get changed," Mrs Hofferson stepped back from the sofa. "We need to take a trip into town." She disappeared upstairs, returning five minutes later dressed in jeans and a sweater. She ducked into the kitchen and returned with a large bowl. "In case he's sick again," she answered Astrid's questioning expression.

They made their way back to Astrid's car. It was a half hour drive from the Hofferson's property to Berk. Astrid's mum drove with Hiccup and Astrid in the back seat.

"I think you might have appendicitis," Mrs Hofferson explained, she met her daughters eyes in the review mirror.

Hiccup kept his eyes shut, afraid he was going to throw up again if he opened them. He managed to hold out until they reached the hospital, before vomiting into the bowl held on his lap.

He felt so embarrassed. He'd been sick and vulnerable around Astrid before. He felt comfortable enough around her, but to have her mother witness this… He wasn't sure he'd be able to look her in the eyes again after this.

He barely registered the car engine shutting off, and the words; "I'll be back in a minute."

True to her word, Mrs Hofferson returned a few moments later with a wheelchair.

"I can walk," Hiccup complained.

"I'm sure you can hun, but this is easier."

Hiccup reluctantly climbed out of the car and into the chair, arms curved protectively around his middle as he was pushed inside.

The woman at the desk waved them through the imposing doors that separated the waiting area from the emergency room.

"Sue, what are you doing back here?" One of the Doctors caught sight of them and came over.

"Marie, you remember my daughter Astrid-" The Doctor nodded. "This is her boyfriend Hiccup, I think he has appendicitis." Mrs Hofferson wheeled him over to an empty bed, shutting the cubicle curtain behind them.

"This is honestly one of the most embarrassing moments of my life," Hiccup whispered to Astrid. "I threw up _all_ over your driveway in front of your mum. I think it's time you put me out of my misery." He eyed the bed, anticipating how much pain moving from the chair up on to the bed would bring. He took a deep breath, face flushing with more than fever when both Astrid and her mum helped him up. A small part of Hiccup was grateful for the assistance. His side was on fire.

Astrid tried not to smile at her boyfriend's predicament. "Think of it this way," she leant against the bed, her fingers tangled in Hiccup's clammy grip. "She's pretty much seen you at your worst. It can only get better from here."

"That really doesn't help."

Mrs Hofferson caught that last part, chiming in with "Don't worry hun, I've seen you looking much worse than this," before turning back to speak to the Doctor about his symptoms. Hiccup remembered that Astrid's mum had been one of the nurses on when he'd been bought into the hospital after the car accident six years ago. She'd mentioned it offhand the first time they'd met.

He groaned into his hands. A mix of pain and mortification.

"So, Hiccup, that's an interesting nickname." The Doctor was back at his side. She was a kind looking woman with warm brown eyes. "Here's what we're going to do. I want to take some blood and run some tests. We'll also get you started on something for the pain and the nausea. How does that sound?"

Hiccup just nodded, the queasy feeling rising again.

Astrid tried to make small talk to distract him from the sharp needle pricks as blood was drawn and an IV was placed. Within a few minutes he could feel the medication working. Hiccup felt all the tension ease out of his body.

Not all the pain was gone, he let out a long groan when the ultrasound probe was pressed to his belly.

"That's it there."

Hiccup squinted at the screen but had no idea what he was looking at. He let his head fall back against the raised bed, eyes shut.

"Congratulations, it's a girl," Astrid whispered beside him.

"I hate you," he mumbled.

"You don't mean that, you're obviously delirious." Astrid was sitting with her elbows up on the bed. Hiccup cracked open one eye to glare at her.

"So," the Doctor packed up her equipment. "I'm going to call the surgical consult. Given your symptoms and that you've been sick for a couple of days, I wouldn't be surprised if it ruptures."

Hiccup nodded, letting the words wash over him. He trusted Astrid to take in the important information.

"Someone should call my dad," he murmured. He felt fingers tighten around his own and heard Astrid's voice.

"I'll call him babe, you rest." There was less teasing in her words now.

Hiccup let himself drift off.

His dreams were full of fire.

Toothless wasn't a dog anymore; he was a great black dragon with glowing green eyes, shooting blue fire from his mouth.

"Hiccup."

He opened his eyes and stared up at the large figure hovering over him.

"Dad? I had- this dream." He could still feel it. The heat. Burning him. "Hurts." He was confused. It looked like he was still in the emergency room, but it felt like he'd been sleeping for days. Someone had given him a blanket.

Hiccup blinked sluggishly and stared at his Dad.

"When did you…" he voiced his thoughts out loud.

"A few minutes ago." A large warm hand brushed his hair off his sweaty forehead. "Your fever's spiking son." Stoick's face was swimming in his vision. "The Doctors are afraid your appendix may have burst. They're gonna come and take you for surgery in a minute."

"Astrid…?" Where was she, she'd been sitting beside Hiccup just a moment ago.

"Over here."

His head felt so heavy, but he turned it on the pillow and saw Astrid sitting on a chair on the other side of the bed.

"Okay," he said, nodding to himself.

The curtain around the bed was drawn back and a couple of people bustled into the room. Something was injected into his IV and Hiccup felt his eyelids growing heavy again.

…

"Hey there sleepyhead."

Hiccup opened his eyes slowly. His head felt mushy. There was a single lamp by the bed, lighting the figure perched on the blankets beside him.

"Hey there yourself," he mumbled back groggily.

"You slept through Christmas," Astrid told him seriously.

"What?" Hiccup tried to push himself up into a sitting position. Astrid rolled her eyes at his struggling and held down the button that raised the head of the bed. "When? There's no way I slept a whole day."

"I'm kidding. You were only asleep for about an hour." Astrid hopped down and returned to the chair she'd been sitting in. "Your Dad went to get some lunch." She explained Stoick's absence.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah, a bit." Hiccup had awoken that morning still dizzy and nauseous from the anaesthetic. His appendix had been removed without any complications, but the incision site would be painful for a few days. What a great way to spend the Christmas Holidays.

"So I was talking to mum," Astrid leant forward on her seat. "You'll probably get released tonight if you can keep some food down."

"That quick?" Hiccup was relieved. Being in hospital was bringing back painful memories from his last stay. He hated the place and wanted to be home as soon as possible.

"That quick," Astrid confirmed. "Turns out appendicitis is pretty boring these days." She faked a yawn.

"Maybe you should try having it," Hiccup suggested. "We'll see how boring it is then.

…

Two weeks later Astrid was pulling up outside Hiccup's house.

"-And remember, you're not allowed to ride that bike of yours for at least another week, okay?"

"Yeah, I know." Hiccup followed his dad outside. Stoick was carrying his son's bag despite Hiccup's protests that lifting a backpack was hardly considered a strenuous activity. "You've only reminded me five times this morning." Toothless shot past him to greet their visitor.

"And no lifting anything at work."

"Dad, I'm not a kid, I can take care of myself."

Stoick looked like he was going to argue that, but he shut his mouth as Astrid climbed out of the car.

"I've come to collect the invalid," she said, knowing she'd get a rise out of Hiccup. He'd come home, insisting everything was fine and exhausted himself to the point of sleeping for an entire day. Stoick had been about to take him back to the hospital.

In a fit of overprotectiveness, Stoick had hidden his son's prosthetic leg for the next two days, keeping him on the couch until he'd healed up a bit.

"Is this gang up on Hiccup week?" The boy asked his dog. Toothless had returned to sit by his feet, tail thumping happily.

He let his Dad put his bag in the car.

"So, uh, I'll see you soon," Hiccup promised.

"Be safe son."

Hiccup climbed into the car. His side still gave him some minor discomfort when bending and stretching, but nothing like the agony he had endured.

He gave his Dad and Toothless one final wave as Astrid pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to try and make this something in the canon universe at first, but then Hiccup would be dead and that would be no fun. Cannon Hiccup gets whumped in my other stories.
> 
> Fortunately I have never had appendicitis, so I can only guess as to how that would feel. I have, however, gone to an exam while very sick and it _sucked!_
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this.


End file.
